Page 60 of V for Vindictive

I nearly lost it to hysterics, finding the word impossibly adorable on a man who looked like he’d just served ten years in the big house.

I’d always wondered about this so-called “gap” Kate always raved about when a dude looked like a criminal but was sweet and kind to his lady of choice. Honestly, I never really got why she was so obsessed with it. She was the girl who chased down guys who looked like they’d taken a loan out at a tattoo parlor, but now I got it. It made sense. I was addicted to the gap in Phillip’s terrifying appearance and his sultry sweetness.

Call me a convert, because I was totally a gap girl now.

I groaned, hands on the other Hunter’s face and eyes set on his. “How fucking dare you, dude. How dare you make me want to throw you down and fuck you right here when we have a Dark Fae to catch.”

Phillip laughed huskily. “There’s time.”

“Oh, shut up,” I retorted, smirking. Then I stole the sword right off his back and aimed it at him. “There’s no time like the present, you beautiful jerk. Let’s go trap us an old-as-fuck Dark Fae, hmm?”

Chapter 22

Friend of Cash

It wasn’t very long after abandoning our hellbox home before the surreal luminosity of the richest purple captured my gaze from a figure looming out ahead, waiting for us.

Here we go…

Cassius was leaned up against a tree, dark marks exactly how I remembered them on the cowardly Dark Fae. To be fair, those markings would be impossible to forget, seeing how they were my first introduction to the guy who abandoned my parents to their fate.

Cassius’s gorgeous golden-hued flesh beamed in a weird-looking tunic over glossy black, body-tight pants. I didn’t really know much about fashion, but the outfit looked weird enough to be ridiculously expensive. Which was the very reason I’d never understand fashion. Silver-blonde hair with hidden pockets of lavender fell over a face that was annoyingly beautiful for someone who’d been a real thorn in our side.

His appearance would definitely claim the heart of every girl I went to school with. It just screamed the next member of BTS, and Kate would literally lose her fucking mind over him. I could just hear her now, shaking me bodily by the shoulders, trying to impart the intensity of her love, and scream-whispering something along the lines of “That’s my future husband!”

Despite it being Cash we talked about, it still made me smile against my will to think about Kate’s energy running over the Dark Fae and taking him hostage until death do they part. I mean, I’d never let it get that far, but it was plenty funny to think about terrifying the supernatural Fae with the strong power of the very human Kate when I let her at him.

Just a little.

Just to make him squirm for a second.

I sensed the absence of the air’s movement around the overly casual Dark Fae, whose eyes moved over my body with overt curiosity as if seeing me for the very first time, and I instantly recognized he had some sort of protective barrier around his body.

“Hmm,” the tall and lithe Fae suddenly vocalized, taking a few steps my direction. His purple eyes darted over to Phillip, clearly expecting my partner to intervene, but when the Austrian didn’t, Cash’s visible interest radiated in his cat eyes. “It’s definitely noticeable to any magic-user she might cross that she’s something else entirely. The energy she puts into the air is unmistakably strong and dangerous.”

The Fae’s seductive purple eyes traveled over my body in a way that made me want to smack him down with a punishing blow. “Andsheis right here, so talk to me, Dark Fae, not to Phillip.”

The bastard had the gall to look over at the other Hunter for confirmation, and I quietly seethed.

As a woman and a Hunter, I was well-acquainted with misogyny and how to effectively deal with it, both human and supernatural versions, but I wasn’t in any position to punish it today. The upwards slide of Phillip’s lips told me he knew it all, and he was definitely enjoying himself over it.

Jerk.

But after declaring our mutual love, it almost appeared as if the Austrian was constantly covered in a glow. It took all of my training not to drool and stare at him every second I was permitted to. If we were a normal couple, this was about the time when I’d fall into his arms, tell him he was hot, and kiss the smirking bastard for all he was worth.

Today, he was still all sparkly and shit, but we’d reverted back to the usual poke-and-prod banter he and I were prone to using with each other. I’d finally landed me a Grade-A criminal hottie, and I couldn’t even brag about it to anyone. So much for romance. We barely classified as a couple most days.

“She’s the boss,” the Austrian commented sarcastically.

I flipped a dagger in my hand, eyeing my partner. “You’re a real asshole, Phillip.”

Cash watched the exchange, his eyes flicking from Phil to me with growing interest.

Landing the final verbal blow, Phillip bowed, arms out like an absolute bastard and his ethereal eyes capturing mine with an emotion I’d know anywhere. “If you say so, lass.”

I clicked my tongue and looked away, putting on a show for a one-person audience.

Despite the annoyance, our bickering was done on purpose. Of course, Phillip being true to his craft found great ways to rouse the true teenage rage from me. He was nothing if not an obnoxiously all-in sort of dude when it came to a mission. Every little remark, every snip and complaint, was meant to disarm Cash and make him believe we were already at each other’s throats. Last thing we wanted was to make our relationship seem like it was all smooth sailing.

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